Maraaya will represent Slovenia in Vienna!

Hi guys! So we have one of four songs tonight have now been selected – what do we do now? We go to the others! But not until you read that

Maraaya will represent Slovenia in the Eurovision in Austria with the song “Here For You”! So what do we think of the song? And will Eurovision 2016 be off to Ljubljana? Keep reading to find out! Here’s the Slovenian Eurovision entry this year!

So what do we think of the song? Well, to put it this way – it rather a mix of pop and dubstep and…a bit of traditional classic music? Normally a combination like that wouldn’t come across as being one that would really come together well on paper. Surprisingly, the song actually comes together very well as a very warming mix of pop and classical music, mostly through the use of the violin. It would be one of those songs you’d expect to hear in a club sometime soon, and that could be something that Maraaya could use to her advantage!

As per, we covered EMA 2015 on our Twitter feed and if you’re really not up for watching the whole show, here is a brief overview of what went on tonight in the Slovenian capital!

The show opened up with a welcome by the panel of the group – Maja Keuc, Darja Švajger and Tinkara Kovac – all previous Slovenian representatives in Eurovision, so Maraaya might be able to get a bit of advice on it after the show?

Alya – Misunderstandings. I apparently misunderstood why so many people love that song.

Tim Kores quickly followed with his song “Once Too Many Times”. There were elements of a good pop/indie song here, but I just felt like the song was pretty incongruous…the last part of the song was the best, undoubtedly..Plus, to have only one performer on stage with a song like that is a little risky..Look at Andrius Pojavis pre-Malmö.

The interval between the songs, was a bit of a mix of talking to the panel about what they thought of the song and of the panel singing or performing…I don’t know why to be honest..

Jana Sustersic came afterwards with the first Slovene-language entry – “Glas srca”. Suprisingly, the song was very well produced and her vocals were very strong and impressive..could we be looking at another Slovenian Diva? She had the sass, for sure!!

Slovenian ads though. And while I’m on the subject – that male host (Nejc Šmit) though.

I.C.E. came straight after the break with their song “Vse Mogoce”, and wow……So. Much. SCREAMING. I thought I had done something wrong and was being sent to the naughty corner or something….What else can I say?!

This performance was quickly followed by Clemens, who sang “Mava To”. It was a really nice song to listen to, and to calm down after the screeching…It was quite refreshing to hear jazz in Eurovision again. Maybe that would do well for the country?

Maraaya soon followed after that, and we had a rather “interesting” performance, if you want to call it that. Donning a pair of earphones, whose connection to something wayyyyyy off backstage could be clearly seen, she gave a very strong vocal performance and the physical performance was rather strong too..but is it just me, or is her voice INCREDIBLY nasally?

Rudi Bučar En Figoni came after the ad break. Showing off the more traditional music of Slovenia, the song was very reminiscent of “Rusinka” back in 2011 for FYR Macedonia, but with a hint of “Narodnozabavni rock”. Possible Mumford and Sons of Slovenia, right there?

Finally, it was Martina Majerle to perform her song “Alive”. Being the favourite, I was expecting to hear something along the lines of ‘Love Symphony’, the song she gave her vocals to in 2009 for Eurovision in Moscow. In fact, I heard something completely different…and I’m not exactly warming to it…Sorry Martina!

So, what happened next was pretty weird. After Tinkara “sang” the re-vamped version of ‘Round and Round’ that never went to Copenhagen, a jury decided which two artists should progress to the final. Maraaya was declared to be a super-finalist, and then RTV SLO decided to cut to a break? A tad odd to be honest…when we did come back, we then also found out that Rudi Bučar En Figoni would go head-to-head with her….way to throw a curveball!

We then had both performances again as the public were now only to decide who would represent Slovenia. Maraaya had switched the headphones onto the other ears, but the connection to the back of the stage was still as visible as anything xD While Rudi Bučar En Figoni was still as crazy as they were in the first performance!

While we were waiting for the Slovenians to make their minds up, we were treated to Maja Keuc singing “Euphoria”…why did Thomas G:son give the song to Loreen, when he could have given it to Maja and she would have sassed the competition out in Düsseldorf! Tut tut, TG! Daria sang straight after singing “Rise Like A Phoenix”, and can I just say that she sounded like she was deliberately rushing through the song? Seems like she wanted “Euphoria”…her body language stank of otherwise! Tinkara decided to sing again after Daria, singing a song in Italian…I don’t know which one it was though, so don’t ask me!

There was no surprise straight after the performances, that the results of the public vote were revealed and it was revealed that Maraaya would represent Slovenia in Eurovision in May! Congratulations!

So how well will the Slovenian song do in Eurovision? Well Slovenia is performing in the second half of the second semi-final. Now, that semi-final is working out to be very strong, so if Slovenia want to have a chance at qualifying, they’ll need to make sure that the intimate threesome are able to utilise the entire stage in Vienna and to get the crowd involved in any way possible. Should it qualify to the final, I’d predict a low enough finish for Slovenia – possibly around the 17th or 18th position? But who knows what’s going to happen? We just have to wait till May to find out! So what are your opinions on the song?

Your views:

Are you happy Slovenia is sending Maraaya?

Andy Carlisle from the United Kingdom: I really like it. The beginning reminds me of ‘Lionel Richie – you are my destiny!

Oliver Dravenau from Germany:A hit song? Maybe 15 years ago!

Svana Lístí Agnarsdóttir from Iceland: It is an okay song. I don’t think it’ll do hugely well though.

Alfreds Einser from Latvia: I LOVE THIS SONG. IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. PLEASE LET SLOVENIA WIN THIS YEAR IN VIENNA!!

So it seems that the fans are rather divided on the song’s selection…as we can see, the reactions are from the extremely popular (Alfreds) to the extremely unpopular (Oliver)..will she conquer the semi-final and go on to win the Contest? We can only wait and see.. so what do you think? Are you happy that Maraaya will represent Slovenia in Eurovision in Austria, or did you want another finalist to take home the crown? And where do you think the song will place? Feel free to tell us what you think by commenting below!